“TAPI- a pipeline of opportunities”-Afghan Minister of Mines and Petroleum

Afghan Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Dr. Daud Saba, regarded the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline as a pipeline of opportunities that will bring Afghanistan, Pakistan and India closer.

Dr. Saba assured that the representatives of both Pakistan and India were “on the same page” regarding the TAPI project and said that the politics between India and Pakistan would have no negative impact on the project.

“During the meeting, I noticed that Pakistani and Indian officials were very close to each other…Pakistan, Afghanistan and India had a similar approach on the project. The three countries have common interests,” The Express Tribune quotes Dr. Saba.

With regards to the security for the project, Dr. Saba said Afghan government is determined to deal with this challenge.

He said the route of the pipeline going along the Heart-Kandahar Highway lies in a secure and peaceful area and added that Afghan government has undertaken security plans for major projects in the country including the TAPI project.

The 21st Summit of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will be hosted in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, within two months.

The officials of the concerned nations will finalize the inception date of the project during the upcoming meeting.

The pipeline will be operational in 2017. It has the capacity to carry 90mn standard cubic meters a day gas for a 30-year period, of which India and Pakistan would get 38 mmscmd each, and Afghanistan would get the remaining 14 mmscmd.

The 1735km gas pipeline is expected to stretch from the largest gas field in Turkmenistan, Galkynysh, through Afghanistan’s provinces of Herat and Kandahar to Fazilka, area located between India and Pakistan.

The four nations’ president signed the intergovernmental agreement of the TAPI project in 2010 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The project has been a topic of discussion from 1990 onwards.

The Transaction Advisory Services Agreement (TASA) on the project was signed in November 2013.

The pipeline will bring USD 450mn in revenue to Afghanistan and generate employment opportunities for thousands of youths.